1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to a method for heating a semiconductor wafer by means of application of radiated light.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
The ion implantation process has recently been finding actual utility as an effective method for introducing dopant atoms into a semiconductor wafer since it is possible to control accurately the concentration levels of dopant atoms and the depths of resulting junctions. In the ion implantation process, the dopant atoms are ionized and accelerated to high velocity and the wafer is bombarded with the dopant atoms. Whenever the ion implantation process is carried out, it is necessary to subject each resulting wafer to a subsequent heating treatment at about 1000.degree. C. or higher in an inert gas such as argon so that the wafer is annealed to heal crystal defects which have been developed due to the implantation of ions. This heat treatment must be carried out in a short time period so as to prevent the concentration distribution of the implanted dopant atoms in the depthwise direction of the wafer from changing due to thermal diffusion. Furthermore, there is an outstanding demand for the establishment of a high-speed heating and cooling cycle for wafers in order to improve the productivity.
Reflecting the above-mentioned demands, a novel method has recently been developed to heat wafers by means of application of radiated light. According to this method, the temperatures of wafers may be raised to 1000.degree. C.-1400.degree. C. in a time period as short as a few seconds.
It has however been found that, when a wafer, for example, a wafer of single crystal of silicon is heated to 1000.degree. C. or higher in a few seconds, a damage called "slip line" or bending is developed in the wafer because of a difference in the rising velocity of temperature between its circumferential portion and its central portion, in other words, due to a non-uniform temperature rise therebetween. The thickness of a wafer is generally very small, namely, of a level of about 0.5 mm or so and its thicknesswise temperature distribution is thus rendered substantially uniform in a very short time period of a level of 10.sup.-3 second or so. Accordingly, such a damage as slip line may be possibly avoided if the temperature distribution on the surface of each wafer is rendered uniform. However, it is very difficult to prevent the development of such a damage as slip line in actual process even if the surface of each wafer is exposed to radiated light having a uniform irradiation energy density, because more heat is to radiate off from the circumferential portion of the wafer than its central portion and the circumferential portion becomes cooler than the central portion.